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After the banks closed and public opinion started moving against him, the Greek prime minister seems desperate for a deal with his creditors. Athens has now defaulted to the International Monetary Fund, adding to the pressure. But it is not clear lenders will cut him any slack. They may prefer to deal with his successor.

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The chance of Greece quitting the euro has risen sharply. But a so-called Grexit can still be stopped, despite dramatic weekend developments which saw Athens declare a six-day bank holiday after talks with its creditors broke down.The most obvious way of avoiding a Grexit is if the people vote to accept the bailout terms offered by euro zone countries and the International Monetary Fund in a referendum set for July 5. But even if they do that, it’s not certain Greece will avoid a return to the drachma.

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Hugo Dixon is Editor-at-Large, Reuters News. The opinions expressed are his own.

If Greece collapses, there will be giant dollops of blame to go round. The biggest ones will stick on whoever behaves most unreasonably in the standoff between Athens and its creditors, which could easily end in default and disaster.

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Hugo Dixon is Editor-at-Large, Reuters News. The opinions expressed are his own.

The negotiations between Greece and its creditors over how to prevent the country defaulting are already in extra time. They have dragged on for so long that it might seem sensible to bring them to a swift, sharp conclusion.

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Athens has struggled to get its euro zone creditors to talk about debt relief. That is because it is not the most urgent issue facing Greece. A short-term cash crunch could trigger bankruptcy in the next few weeks. But if the negotiators resolve the immediate crisis – and the omens don’t look good – debt relief should come onto the table.

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Hugo Dixon is Editor-at-Large, Reuters News. The opinions expressed are his own.

The next days will define Greece’s prime minister. Alexis Tsipras must choose between saving his country and sticking with a bankrupt ideology. If he is brave and smart, he can secure a few more concessions from creditors and a goodish deal for Greece. If not, he will drag the country into the abyss.

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Hugo Dixon is Editor-at-Large, Reuters News. The opinions expressed are his own.

Should Greece’s creditors give the country an ultimatum? No. Not only is such a thing probably unnecessary, it could also play into the hands of Greek nationalists who would argue that foreigners were again bullying Athens. Besides, negotiations between Greece and its creditors are making progress, albeit still too slowly. Dictating to the Greeks would make any bust-up between the two sides particularly bitter.

Author Profile

Hugo Dixon is a columnist and entrepreneur. His most recent book is "The In/Out Question: Why Britain Should Stay in the EU and Fight to Make it Better." He founded Breakingviews in 1999, and was editor and chairman until it was acquired by Thomson Reuters in 2009. He continued to edit it until 2012. Before founding Breakingviews, Hugo spent 13 years at the Financial Times, the last five as Head of Lex. He began his journalistic career at the Economist. Follow him on twitter: @hugodixon